The first year I lived in San Francisco, I helped host a Passover seder with an assortment of old and new friends and borrowed chairs.

With the afternoon sun streaming brightly through the windows of my third-floor kitchen after days of rain, I put potatoes on to roast and set the table. Then I dipped homemade coconut macaroons in melted chocolate for a sweet finish to the meal. After dinner we drank kosher red wine and pronounced the cookies metsooyan - very fine indeed.

This year, Passover begins at sundown March 25, and for the following week, observant Jews will avoid leavened bread and similar foods. Cooks may already be stockpiling the potato starch and matzo cake meal in anticipation, though perhaps not without a grimace.

Now, about those macaroons: They fit the bill as being Passover-appropriate and satisfied the yen for something sweet. But my friend Jessica, who keeps kosher and who has been eating Passover desserts probably since she could chew solid food, has confessed that by the end of the holiday she can hardly stand to look at a macaroon, especially if it's store-bought. She might even forgo dessert altogether out of desperation.

I appreciate her dilemma. But there is a solution: naturally flour-free desserts.

Lean on fruit

The goal is to make the no-flour restriction a nonissue. The easiest way is to seek out recipes that lean on the fresh flavors of fruit and don't use even a teaspoon of flour or its alternative. These naturally flourless delicacies are not only suitable for Passover but also are perfect for those avoiding gluten for any reason.

I've never been a fan of crusts, so it seemed only right when I was working up a cheesecake recipe to leave off the crumbly base.

Creamy mascarpone cheese is folded with cream cheese and eggs and baked into a rich cake that is thickly spread with homemade Meyer lemon curd. I'd argue the lack of a crust works to its favor - the cheesecake tastes lighter without it.

Or ditch the cake idea altogether and try simple, not-too-sweet custard with wine-poached pears infused with honey and sprinkled with chopped pistachios and mint.

One caveat: Both of the above suggestions do contain dairy products, so wouldn't be suitable for those who keep kosher and are serving meat during the meal.

If you like, you can make the custards with a nondairy milk with good results. Or save them for a meal when fish or a vegetarian option is served as the main course.

Cookie choices

Other options could include French-style macarons - little meringue-like sandwich cookies made with egg whites whipped until lofty and folded into ground nuts and then filled with chocolate ganache or a variety of fruit jams.

Spanish cookies made with almond meal and egg whites - called almendrados - would also fit in nicely. And a fudgy chocolate mousse would satisfy a chocolate craving without resorting to the ubiquitous flourless chocolate cake.

For something a little on the lighter side, try a bright, late-winter fruit salad using the last of the season's citrus laced with fresh mint and sugared lime zest. For a quick fix, homemade (or store-bought) ice cream or sorbet, or a lemon granita served with the first spring strawberries would be lovely as well.

For this year's Passover observation, opt for desserts that rely upon fruit, eggs and nuts to give dishes flavor and substance. Odds are you'll never miss the flour.

Crustless Cheesecake With Meyer Lemon Curd

This cake and lemon curd need to chill for several hours before assembling, so make them early in the day or the night before serving.

Cheesecake

20 ounces cream cheese (2 1/2 8-ounce packages), at room temperature

8 ounces (about 1 cup) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

-- Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon fresh Meyer lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Lemon curd

1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon zest, about 2-3 lemons

1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice, about 2-3 lemons

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the cheesecake: Move a rack to the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. Have a 9-inch springform pan ready.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape as needed. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and salt; mix at low speed until combined. Pour into the pan and bake until cake is set and puffed around its edges but still trembles slightly when pan is shaken gently, 45-50 minutes. Remove pan to a rack and cool completely. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 8 hours. Meanwhile, make the lemon curd.

For lemon curd: Have ready a saucepan of simmering water, a medium stainless steel bowl that will fit inside the saucepan without touching the water, a second stainless steel bowl and fine mesh strainer.

Zest the lemons before juicing them.

Combine the lemon juice, eggs and sugar in the first stainless steel bowl, whisking until blended. Place the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring constantly to prevent curdling, until the mixture becomes thick, about 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl and saucepan from the heat and immediately pour the curd through the fine mesh strainer into the second bowl to remove any lumps. Press the curd through the strainer, if necessary.

Whisk the butter into the lemon mixture until the butter has melted and is well combined. Stir in the lemon zest and let the curd cool to room temperature. (Makes about 1 1/2 cups lemon curd).

The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover and refrigerate.

To assemble: When curd and cheesecake have chilled about 8 hours, spread a medium layer of lemon curd - about half of the curd, or to taste -over the top of the cake. Save the leftover lemon curd for another use or simply to spread on toast. Refrigerate the cheesecake until ready to serve.

White Wine-Poached Pears With Baked Vanilla Custard

Serves 6

The pears and custard need to be prepared early in the day or the night before serving to chill properly. You can use unsweetened almond milk or soy milk instead of regular milk or cream, although the custard won't be as rich. The custard is adapted from "Forgotten Skills of Cooking," by Darina Allen.

Pears

1 1/2 cups dry white kosher wine, water or apple juice

1/4 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or cardamom

6 firm pears such as Bosc, peeled, halved and cored

Custard

1 1/2 cups whole milk (see headnote)

1 cup heavy cream (see headnote)

1 vanilla bean

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

Topping

8 large mint leaves, thinly slivered

1/4 cup chopped unsalted raw pistachio nuts

For the pears: Combine the wine, honey and ground cinnamon or cardamom in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally until the honey melts.

Add the pear halves, reduce heat to medium and simmer gently, turning once, until the fruit is just tender but not falling apart, about 10-15 minutes. Watch so the fruit does not overcook; a skewer or knife should insert easily into the pears.

Place a lid on the pot, remove it from the heat, and cool to room temperature. Pour the pears and the thin wine syrup into a nonreactive bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours to let the flavors meld, turning the pears over once or twice.

Meanwhile, make the custard.

For the custard: Move a rack to the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. Have six 1/2-cup ramekins ready, a baking pan or roasting pan that will hold them, and water just off the boil.

In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the milk-cream mixture; add the pod. Over medium heat, bring to just below boiling, then remove from heat and let the mixture stand 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk mixture, then slowly whisk the mixture into the egg mixture until well combined. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the custard evenly into each ramekin.

Place the ramekins into the baking pan and fill the pan with the hot water until it reaches halfway up the ramekins. Carefully place the roasting pan in the oven and bake the custards about 35-40 minutes, until they are set and no longer liquid; they will still jiggle slightly. Remove the custards from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Lightly wrap the custards and chill in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, or until ready to serve.

To serve: Place a ramekin of vanilla custard on a dessert plate and place two pear halves alongside. Top the pears with a sprinkling of the mint leaves and chopped pistachios.

Nicole Spiridakis is a San Francisco freelance writer. She is working on a cookbook of naturally flourless desserts to be published by Chronicle Books in 2014. E-mail: food@sfchronicle.com

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